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MOTUC Q&A's From Around the Net (11/15/2011)

MOTUClassics.Com: What’s the latest update on Snake MAA? If it’s not done to the armor the figure comes with, can we get some silver armor in a future weapons pak?

That certainly is a great suggestion. We are still reviewing the figure and whether any changes are even possible at all (i.e. swapping some shared parts, deco options). In the end we may need to go with the option that is logistically easiest and most cost effective. Stay tuned as we work out the details. But do know there will not be any further tooling or parts beyond what was shown at NYCC.

4.) Robert M. Radcliffe asks: The mini-comic accurate Skeletor head sculpt packaged with Demo-Man is great, but the paint deco is completely different from the source material, with a green skull and big red eyes, instead of a yellow skull with tiny beady eyes. Is there a chance a source accurate deco version of this head may see release in the future?
At this point production has already started on this figure but we certainly could look at this suggestion for a repaint down the line!

5.) Damien asks: Vikor is a great figure – I feel one of the most awesome figures in a line of awesome figures. But fans were not demanding a Vikor figure. At all. No one ever asked for one. Yet Mattel made it (and we thank you!). The same could be said for Carnivus and most NA characters. With that in mind; can we get some kind of explanation as to why a figure no one ever asked for has no problem being thrown into the line — but when another character that fans are actually asking for comes up, we’re told there isn’t enough demand (Illumina, for instance).

Vikor is a concept design based on the most recognizable character in the entire MOTU word – He-Man (same goes for Demo-Man being a concept design for Skeletor, also one of the most popular figures in the line). That was a big reason why we wanted to do these figures. A great way to add new-ness to our main hero and villain in a unique way. It was also, as you stated, a fun way of doing something few were expecting and keep the line fresh and exciting!

3) Gygor's bio states he was released to bolster Skeletor's forces, yet BG Evil-Lyn's bio indicates he didn't join the Evil Warriors. Is Gygor the leader of another faction, or is he simply THAT dangerous just by himself?

He was released to booster the Evil Warriors, but once out went a bit off on his own. He is one bad monkey with his own agenda.

4) It was mentioned before that you were considering a Castle Grayskull in 2013 but scrapped the idea since the subscription numbers are the lowest since it's inception. At NYCC it was stated that if we were to see a Castle Grayskull it would have to be a movie year. Is this indeed a confirmation of Castle Grayskull as well as the fact that we will not see a Master of the Universe film release before 2014?

No, we have not confirmed a released date for a feature MOTU film at this time. It is currently in development with Sony.

While we have seen fan requests for this, Fisto was not designed with a removable fist and it is too late to make this change at this time.

4. The year 2012 seems a little bit overloaded with the 30th anniversary line, new stands, Granamyr and the standart sub. If the Wind Raider performs well (is there really any doubt?) will Mattel release the next vehicle in 2012 or will it rather be moved until early in 2013 to keep costs for collectors a little bit under control?

There definitely will be no vehicle in 2012, mostly due to putting our efforts in 2012 toward Granamyr. We just don't have the resources to do both in one year.

5. When we see the figures all sculpts are final, but when Spector was announced this figure caused a lot of discussion. One thing people criticised was the spare symbol on his armor. Here is one suggestion: why not use the colourchange feature that the SDCC Orko had? that way you could use warm water to make the symbol visible and the figure would become much cooler with this little gimmick. Think about it!

This certainly is a cool suggestion, but as with all the 30th anniversary slots, we are allowing the creator of each slot to see their specific design made as a figure. We kept Photog just as Nathan designed him, Draego-Man as the Horsemen designed him (and we are trying to find a way to get out his dropped accessories due to cost) and Spector as Scott designed him. While we know some fans are not keen on the spade, it comes with the character and we're sticking to it out of respect for the character's creator.

1.) You recently revealed that the 2012 SDCC exclusive will cost $30 instead of $25 like the previous 2 years. Just to manage expectations- Is this just due to the rising cost of figures or should we expect a little something more from next year's exclusive?

A little of both.

2.) Though I personally LOVE the Horde Prime figure, some folks were a bit disappointed that this character didn't get the large-sized figure treatment. Can you tell us why the decision was made to do Horde Prime as a regular-sized character?

From Toy Guru:

"Originally Horde Prime (whom we were calling Horde Supreme) was going to be our club exclusive figure. Before we had Filmation rights, he was extremely unique as he was a Filmation character that was never actually seen. This was a bit of a loophole (normally we are not ones to go for "loopholes", but oddly this one was legally clearly open to us so we went for it) and we thought doing Horde Supreme would be a great Club Figure because no one had seen the face and he was "slightly" Filmation without stepping on their rights (again, because he was never actually seen in the show). Our idea was (and still is!) people would see the face for the first time on the figure. When we got the Filmation rights the loophole of doing Supreme/Prime was less special as we had rights to all Filmation characters and we scrambled to get Shadow Weaver into the line to celebrate this. But we really didn't want to loose out on doing Horde Prime/Supreme so he was bumped to another spot in the year (and that figure was bumped out of the year entirely to accommodate the addition of Shadow Weaver and retaining of Prime). So I suppose the answer to your question is he was standard size because he was originally slotted in as the Club Figure which was a standard sized figure due to the 20.00 sign up fee."

3.) It has been stated for awhile now that you are looking into better shipping for international fans... but things are still the same. Is this something you are still looking into, or are international fans just stuck with the current options?

Yes, this is still something we are actively exploring. For domestic customers too!

4.) Another international shipping question- There was mention that you were trying to "un-combine" the forcibly combined subs, as many international buyers would prefer they still ship separately. Is there some definite solution at hand?

We are still working on locking in a solution.

5.) Have you guys considered perhaps giving the Wind Raider a special sale date earlier in the month (like say, December 1st), similar to what you did last year with the PKE Meter for Ghostbusters? The earlier date would help avoid site traffic and gives buyers a better chance at having them before Christmas. Plus, since this is the first vehicle in the line, a separate sale would make it feel a little more special!

No, it will go on sale on the same date to help customers save on shipping.

Kastor's Korner: In the mini comic that Temple of Darkness Sorceress is based on, her outfit was a feathered one-piece with white collar, while the upper portion of her outfit and sleeves were actually skin-colored. Is it too late to add this deco change to make her more accurate?

Matty: We will certainly run this suggestion by the Horsemen and design to see if it is feasible to make these changes and if it is something they want to do. In the end, we try to leave it to the Horsemen to make final call on deco whenever possible.

Kastor's Korner: Have you seen more sales generated from updated core MOTU characters versus Princess of Power and New Adventures figures during the monthly sales? If so, would it be feasible to package extra heads of MOTU characters with less desirable characters as a secret accessory?
Matty: No, they actually all sell about the same. MOTUC is one popular toy line! We will do extra heads with characters that call for them but we will not be using extra heads purely as a sales gimmick.

Kastor's Korner: We have seen many original MOTU figures with action features translate those features with some very cool tributes in the Classics line. But some original figures, such as Modulok, had swappable parts features not unlike the modern line's swappable heads... is it likely features of a character like Modulok would feature a one-to-one replication of all the original's swappable parts, or would the feature likely be trimmed down in the number of accessories, but still pay homage to the original?
Matty: It may be possible but we simply have not gotten to Modulok yet so these type of discussions simply have not taken place.

4- Will there be a Mattycollector event at Toyfair in February again? Any details for the fans on day/time?

Yes there will be an event but we do not have details yet. Stay tuned!

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The sites listed below are the sites who want to participate in the Q&A round-up in these threads and on the He-Man.org homepage news entry.
Be sure to check out their sites! There's a lot there to see in addition to the Q&As.

All other sites haven't gotten back to us yet about participating, or have asked not to be included which we completely understand and respect.
So, please do not post the actual questions and answers from any site not listed above.
But you are welcome to post a direct link to their Q&A, and discuss the info here in this thread.

While I have nothing against Granamyr, these days I'm really sort of wishing that Mattel would cool it a bit with the larger items and put those resources into making the standard monthly figures the best they can be.

One thing that really annoys me, is that Mattel is skimping on some of the characters that were 100% or damn near 100% tooling back in the day. I really thought all the parts sharing on characters that shared parts back in the day was supposed to help pay for the UNIQUE characters. You know, the Extendars, Tallstars etc. of the line. Now it just seems like they're redirecting those resources into other things. :/

While I have nothing against Granamyr, these days I'm really sort of wishing that Mattel would cool it a bit with the larger items and put those resources into making the standard monthly figures the best they can be.

One thing that really annoys me, is that Mattel is skimping on some of the characters that were 100% or damn near 100% tooling back in the day. I really thought all the parts sharing on characters that shared parts back in the day was supposed to help pay for the UNIQUE characters. You know, the Extendars, Tallstars etc. of the line. Now it just seems like they're redirecting those resources into other things. :/

I agree with you on that. Mattel has weaseled on the parts sharing for a long time now. Leech to me was the best example of this overuse cheap sharing and he suffered for it. He should have been a unique sculpt like his vintage. When they say we are getting only one or possibly two uniques a year that to me causes a concern. There are to many characters that need unique sculpts and I am afraid we may not see everyone in the end.

MOTUClassics.Com: What’s the latest update on Snake MAA? If it’s not done to the armor the figure comes with, can we get some silver armor in a future weapons pak?

That certainly is a great suggestion. We are still reviewing the figure and whether any changes are even possible at all (i.e. swapping some shared parts, deco options). IN THE END WE MAY NEED TO GO WITH THE OPTION THAT IS LOGISTICALLY EASIEST AND MOST COST EFFECTIVE. Stay tuned as we work out the details. But do know there will not be any further tooling or parts beyond what was shown at NYCC.

I guess this statement sums up what this line has been all about since the beginning : EASY and COST EFFECTIVE (= CHEAP) MEASURES !

We're 3 years and a half down the MOTUC line, and we still didn't get many "100% new sculpt" figures : Ram Man, Snakeface, Extendar, Dragstor, Rokkon, Stonedar, Mosquitor, Tung Lashor, Rattlor, Modulok, Multibot, Sssqueeze, Rio Blast and so many others are STILL to be released !

Even the variants seem to have gone much cheaper, lately (cf. Snake Man-at-Arms).

Also, we got bad news about the vehicles (no vehicle at all in 2012) and playsets (Castle Grayskull is still a dream that is very far away).

This is definitely NOT a good sign for the line.

Still, MOTUC is the sturdiest and most resistant brand on Mattycollector so far, but we know the end of a toyline can come very swiftly... especially with Mattel.

No removable fist for Fisto? That seemed like a no-brainer idea just in case there's a 200X Fist in the future, Weapon's Pak hands or swapping with Jitsu's chopping hand.

Yeah that's a bit disappointing.

As KA pointed out the news about MAA's mace is not surprising and since it's on the same mold as the armor doubt they'll ever make a "hard" mace unless it's in a weapons pack, although I never noticed a real problem with the mace?

And in other news pretty cool that the DC sub. Starman will get 2 heads.

I don't know why people are so bummed about the no vehicle for 2012 because of Granamyr. The way I see it, we were never promised vehicles in this line, so we should be lucky that we'Re getting a beautiful Wind Raider. However, Toy Guru did say from the very beginning that Granamyr was a doable character because of his green mini-Comic appearance, so with Granamyr, we knew we would eventually get him. And since he is costing $80, which is the price of the 2 Giant figures combined, maybe it is wise of them to invest that vehicle money into do a proper Granamyr.

I love how he's speaking in the third person in that response AND putting himself in the same league as the 4H or even Geoff Johns and Terry Higuchi.

Whatever, fine, "respect must be paid," but then shouldn't the marketing / brand manager respect the customer base's requests? There seems to be overwhelming support for removal of that symbol from the armor.

I'm sure Scott is unaware that the armor for the palace guards looks a little like the armor for some of the palace guards in the "Point Dread" book & record (I think that's right); the major difference being the symbol.

He could have won some points by removing the symbol and referencing those guards.

I love how he's speaking in the third person in that response AND putting himself in the same league as the 4H or even Geoff Johns and Terry Higuchi.

He's not always answering these personally anymore. Remember those answers recently where whoever is answering says: "Oh we have to go straight to the source for this one!" when it's question directly posed to Toyguru? I don't believe he's the one talking there...ya know, especially since they said "Scott" right there in the answer.

"Since you got here by not thinking, it seems reasonable to expect that, in order to get out, you must start thinking." ~ Tock, the Watchdog

Alexx has a blog?! Come on in and check out Toys and Tomfoolery! You won't regret it...until the next morning.

While we have seen fan requests for this, Fisto was not designed with a removable fist and it is too late to make this change at this time.

After all this time, don't they know that fans actually LOVE it when parts are interchangeable ?

You'd think the brand manager would be aware of such things, and would help these things to be implemented.

And I agree with this feeling :

Hah. And here's me thinking that Fisto was perfect.

But they managed to screw up the last detail afterall....

The way this line is marketed makes it seem like it's amateurs who are marketing it, and not one of the biggest toy companies.

Oh... and I can't be bothered by the Spector answer, since I won't buy him anyway. I guess people not happy with this figure and who don't have a sub will do just the same. This way, respect will certainly be kept for the creator... but I guess the product won't sell out as quick or as smoothly (except maybe if all the Matty apologists buy 10 Spectors).

He's not always answering these personally anymore. Remember those answers recently where whoever is answering says: "Oh we have to go straight to the source for this one!" when it's question directly posed to Toyguru? I don't believe he's the one talking there...ya know, especially since they said "Scott" right there in the answer.

Of course what your saying makes sense and I'd be inclined to agree if it were any other company but the Matty team.

I think Scott lives for interviews, Q&A's, etc. I think it's rare that an intern answers, though I'm sure you're right, and they do. But would I put talking about himself in the 3rd person past Scott?

No.

I'm probably wrong, but then it doesn't say much for Scott's management style if I'm suspecting the worst

While we have seen fan requests for this, Fisto was not designed with a removable fist and it is too late to make this change at this time.

Mattel dropped the ball on this one. We'd been talking about this since before Fisto was even close to being announced. I guarantee the first will be a separate piece from the arm and that the forearm part will have to be a new piece, so what gives?

Originally Posted by Eternian Poet

Hah. And here's me thinking that Fisto was perfect.

But they managed to screw up the last detail afterall....

This absolutely. That's a lot of hard work undone by a simple lack of foresight.